Should you Really Live Like you are Dying?

I am often torn between the idea that I should live like I am dying and the fact that I have to help my children build themselves into a successful adult for a successful future. 

For example, do I snuggle my son for an extra few minutes because tomorrow is never guaranteed or should I make him go to bed on time because he will be a better student tomorrow and I know he is more successful with structure?

For some reason this has really been on my mind alot and I am realizing that living like you are dying does not mean you have to be careless, reckless or even a soft parent.  I am realizing that, for me, it means something totally different and it starts with God.

The first thing that I think of when I think of death is heaven. I think of wanting to get to heaven. I think of wanting to be in the full presence of God and seeing the loved ones that have gone before me. So, why, if my goal is to get to heaven, do I connect things like skydiving and trips to Europe with living like it's my last day?

If tomorrow were really my last day, what would I have wanted to have accomplished? Well, I know for a fact that I would want my children to know and love God. I would also want them to walk with confidence and generosity. I would want them to know that being kind is important, as is being responsible.  I would want them to know that I believe strongly in education and I think that could include getting trained in a good trade or spending time abroad. I want them to know that they should always be themselves while striving to be their best self.  I would also want my husband to know that I think he is a great dad and that he could be a great dad without me because he loves our kids greatly.

I could go on with all of the things in my head that I would want to accomplish, but I think you get the point.  What I would have wanted to accomplish is way more about what I want to leave others with than what I want to have taken with me.  With that being the case, why can't living like I am dying also be living with my and my family's future in mind? Why do they have to be separate? I have decided that they do not.

Now, this does not mean that I do not have trips that I would like to take or other future goals, but it does mean that perhaps my perspective by tying them to a "bucket list" may change. It means that making my children go to bed on time or snuggling them a little more will be a product of what they need that the day and not based on what the next day may bring.